RESPONSE-ABLE COMMUNITIES

RECENT CHALLENGES IN REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL REINTEGRATION

May 22-24, 2013, Pecs, Hungary

The University of Pécs, Hungary, in cooperation with Baranya County Council invites you to attend an international conference on integrated complex policies in the area of regional development. The conference aims to gather multinational expertise, provide a forum for multidisciplinary dialogue, promote the dissemination of research results and generate well-established community and social innovations in social reintegration and regional development.
The deepening global economic crisis and the related social burdens – such as unemployment, social alienation, aggravated by health and welfare problems of ageing societies and grave questions of ecological sustainability – require new and complex developmental and problem-solving strategies. The global crisis has produced new social problems and transformed the previously existing problems. Social reintegration has become a core issue both in Hungary and in the European Union.
In our country problems related to regional inequalities have significantly increased. Presently, there are a number of disadvantaged regions/micro-regions, among others, the Ormánság in South Baranya where a special complex project, Ős-Dráva has commenced. The Ős-Dráva Programme is the first holistic national development and employment model programme to address all the important areas of community life.
The water catchment area of the Dráva River was one of the richest agricultural regions in the Carpathian Basin, characterised by a rich vegetation (forests and pastures) native to the region. Changes in water management and agricultural methods have resulted in the destruction of the local culture and society; and in a marked decrease in the incomes of the local inhabitants. Present-day water management and agriculture have caused the drying out and degradation of the Ormánság Area. Previous forms of subsistence agriculture (self-sufficiency farming, grazing, fishing, and growing fruits and vegetables) have largely disappeared. The only city in the region is Pécs; therefore the primary labour market sector has its severe limitations, providing temporary or permanent employment mainly in the processing industry and tourism.
To address these urgent needs, a complex and integrated rural area and community development programme has been outlined to support the local economy. The program focuses on possible natural strengths of the locality by promoting environmental and infrastructural development, and by introducing new social employment policies.
The project has not only local relevance but may serve as a model of sustainable social and economic development in other areas as well.
Accordingly, presentations address a variety of themes as special policies, innovations and evaluation in rural development, community development, community rehabilitation, social policy, labour policy, health promotion and adult education.
The interdisciplinary conference calls for researchers and decision makers to engage with others in an interdisciplinary dialogue to promote social integration and reintegration by outlining, sharing and working out new approaches through lectures, panels, poster sessions, workshops, and roundtable dialogues. Virtual participation is available for those who are unable to attend the conference in person
Plenary speakers include leading researchers in evaluation research and in critical social work.

Keynote speakers

Professor Roger Ellis OBE DSc DPhil MSc BA(Hons) C Psychol AFBPS FHEA TCert
Founder and Leader of Social and Health Evaluation Unit now SHEU International
Professor Emeritus in Applied Psychology University of Ulster
Senior Visiting Research Professor University of Chester, Visiting Professor University of Luton, Visiting Professor Napier University, Visiting Professor Bucks New University, Visiting Professor Kent State University, Visiting Professor Hokkaido Imperial University, Visiting Professor NOSM Canada

Professor Elaine Hogard, Ph. D.
Director of Assessment and Program Evaluation
Northern Ontario School of Medicine, Canada
Co-Director of SHEU International

Professor Tomi Gomory, MSW, Ph. D.
Associate professor, Fulbright Scholar
Florida State University
College of Social Work
Visiting Scholar University of Tartu

Prof. Roger Ellis, OBE
Policy, Evaluation and Practice
Programme Evaluation is the bridge between Policy and Practice and constitutes a substantial area of social research in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. . “An evaluation will seek to establish whether an intervention or programme has achieved it stated objectives. Most funders will make it a condition of their investment that an independent evaluation should be undertaken of its success or failure.” (Ellis& Hogard, 2006, 372) This presentation will consider the relationship between policy, practice and programme evaluation with examples of evaluation in the areas of regional development; health; social care and community safety.

Prof. Elaine Hogard
Programme Evaluation: the Trident
Programme evaluation is a form of applied social research where questions are posed regarding the effectiveness and efficiency of a programme and data gathered using a variety of methods to address these questions. The Trident methodology is an innovative and highly successful approach in evaluation which provides a framework for questioning and data gathering. The Trident focusses an evaluation on Outcomes: did the programme achieve its stated objectives; Process: how did the programme achieve its objectives and what lessons can be learned; and Multiple Stakeholder Perspectives: what did all the recipients and participants think of the programme. This practical presentation will give guidance for and examples of how a programme evaluation might be designed and conducted. It will provide a number of examples of the Trident in action in projects completed by the Social and Health Evaluation Unit.

Prof. Tomi Gomory, MSW, Ph.D.
Social reintegration models. From problems to solutions
The problem of motivating and resocializing economically and socially disadvantaged populations is a challenge in most societies here in Europe as well as in the United States. One of the key intervention tools utilized by professional social workers is group work. Group dynamics utilized in group work parallels the necessary processes needed for a well functioning society. The talk will highlight several approaches that may be used to help alienated social groups to reconnect with their social and physical environment and take an active part in shaping its and their own existential future.

Parallel Sessions/Workshops
• Regional and social cohesion: Opportunities and challenges in regional economic and social development. Problems related to regional inequalities have significantly increased. These inequalities are a barrier to sustainable social and economic development. How deep have these inequalities grown? What areas are to be prioritized when striving for social cohesion?
• Social crisis, social change and creativity: models in social innovation (best practices and sustainable models): Conference speakers are encouraged to share their ideas on social change, innovative potentials of crisis, new synergies, creativity and organizational empowerment; and contribute to the common discussion on best practice models and issues of sustainability and multiplication.
• Social networks: community development and volunteering as means to improve social solidarity and social capital: The stabilizing and reconstructive potential of weak social ties may play a very important role in solving contemporary problems. What are the key factors that facilitate forming such ties within the society? How do these factors determine community responses to the problem of unemployment? What is the role of volunteering in building and maintaining weak social ties to build social capital and promote social solidarity and reintegration?
• Social innovation, employment and lifelong learning as preconditions for social inclusion and generative and creative lives. Lifelong learning is the continuous building of skills and knowledge through one’s experiences gathered in the course of a lifetime. LLL enhances social inclusion, active citizenship and personal development. If properly devised and implemented, LLL significantly contributes to competitiveness and employability.
• Roma integration: Social consequences of exclusion are not only destructive but their treatments are very costly and often ineffective. Deepening ruptures in the society erode trust and solidarity, isolate groups and individuals and deprive them from full participation in social life and their opportunity to articulate their interests. The key to Roma integration is enablement and empowerment.
• Active social participation of marginalized groups. Facilitating social reintegration through changes in attitudes, lifestyles and behavior. A workshop applying group practice and theory.
• Rural and local economy: social cooperatives, social enterprises, social, economic and ecological sustainability.
• Health promotion in rural areas: health conditions, major dilemmas and strategies in health promotion. Rural communities show a health disadvantage for a number of health measures. Individuals often have poor socioeconomic conditions and are characterized by less healthy behaviours (smoking, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet). Speakers are invited to discuss the applicability, effectiveness and efficiency of community methods in prevention and promotion.
• The recovery model: a new model in the treatment of addictions based on relational responsibility, self care, self-help and mutual help. The model requires substantial changes in one’s perceptions, interpretations and behaviour.
• Green therapies: our experiences of nature provide many therapeutic possibilities. Green therapies connect ecological aspects with issues of human mental health. Experiences on the natural environment are purposefully designed and reflected upon.
• Sustainable traditions: In times of social transformations when new solutions are needed to our problems, examining and reflecting on previous theories, methods and practices are an important resource for social reconstruction and development. What does history of rural labour and lifestyles teach us in the contemporary social context? What are the possible solutions that are rooted in our sustainable traditions?
• Community architecture in rural settings: Community architecture is based on sustainable traditions. It involves the strength and activities of local communities, improves their quality of life, empowers them and multiplies their own resources. By building, reconstructing and then inhabiting the community spaces, local communities give up passivity and helplessness and develop their potentials for self-help and solidarly behaviour. Community architecture is the harmonization of lifestyles, environments and architecture in an organic framework.

Proposal ideas that extend beyond these thematic areas but may have relevance to the field will also be considered.

Conference languages: English and Hungarian. Simultaneous translation is available.

Abstracts
Prospective authors are invited to submit a maximum of 500 words abstracts.
Papers accepted for poster or oral presentation will be published in the conference proceedings. All the registrants at the conference will receive a copy of the proceedings.
An additional possibility for peer-reviewed publication is provided in Szociális Szemle /Hungarian Social Review (ISSN:1789-6983) for the most prominent presentations. (maximum length: 40,000 characters; language: English or Hungarian).

Registration fees
Early bird (through March 31) €200 Fee includes refreshments, conference proceedings and an excursion to Ormánság (Hungary) on 24th May
Early bird, student (through March 31) €100 Fee includes refreshments, conference proceedings and an excursion to Ormánság (Hungary) on 24th May
Regular (through April 30) €250 Fee includes refreshments, conference proceedings and an excursion to Ormánság (Hungary) on 24th May
Regular, student (through April 30) €150 Fee includes refreshments, conference proceedings and an excursion to Ormánság (Hungary) on 24th May
Late/On site (through May 22) €300 Fee includes refreshments and conference proceedings
Late/On site, student (through May 22) €200 Fee includes refreshments and conference proceedings
Virtual participation (through April 15) €100 Fee online access to keynote speakers’ lectures and a copy of the conference proceedings by regular mail. Abstracts of papers accepted for virtual presentation are published in the proceedings ; presentations are published online at www.szocialismunka.hu
Fee is per person. No refund after 15th March.

Contact
Marta B. Erdos, Ph.D., member of the Organizing Committee
erdos.marta@pte.hu
Lilla Csongradi-Feher, Secretary
feher.lilla@pte.hu
Tel: +36 72 503650/23530
website: www.szocialismunka.hu

Organizers
The University of Pécs
The University of Pécs, the oldest university of Hungary, was founded in 1367. Today the University of Pécs is one of the largest institutions of higher education in Hungary. With its 29,000 students and 500 different study programmes the university offers a wide spectrum of teaching and research activities that is known and recognised well beyond the country’s borders.
The University of Pécs comprises the following ten faculties: Faculty of Adult Education and Human Resources Development, Faculty of Business and Economics (School of Economics), Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Music and Visual Arts, Faculty of Sciences, Illyés Gyula Faculty of Education, Medical School, Pollack Mihály Faculty of Engineering and Informatics.
The University has been offering full study programmes taught in English for 27 years and German for 7 years. An increasing number of international students and researchers have been coming from over 80 countries to the University of Pécs to study and conduct research year by year. We are proud to host about 2,000 international students annually. Nowadays we offer Degree Programmes, Doctoral Programmes, Study Abroad Programmes, Summer and Winter Schools and Preparatory Courses for our international students, taught in English and German.
The University of Pécs functions as a knowledge centre for innovation in the South Transdanubian Region. Nearly 2,000 teaching and research staff members participate in research projects at our 10 faculties. 20 doctoral schools offer PhD and DLA degrees that cover a wide spectrum of the sciences, scholarship and arts.
The Szentágothai Research Center of the university has recently been opened. The aim of this world-standard center is to enhance the basic research potential in the areas of natural, engineering and health sciences.
The University of Pécs is located in the uniquely beautiful, vibrant and lively city of Pécs – a proper, multi-campus university town - which was the European Capital of Culture in 2010. The large international student population has become essential part not only of the university but of the city’s everyday life as well.
The Department of Social Work and Social Policy, University of Pécs, Hungary.
Our goal is to train competent, committed and innovative professionals who are capable of working effectively in multi-professional settings to assist individuals, families and communities experiencing difficulties in their lives. Study programmes endeavour to provide students with critical-reflective thinking skills necessary to analyze and understand the socio-cultural context of their work. As future social professionals, they should be able to contribute towards constructive social change, and prevent social exclusion, poverty, inequality and mental health problems.
The department has established a dynamic network of various institutions of higher education, research, social care and social administration. Courses respond to needs of the Hungarian society and meet international training standards. We combine theory with teaching lots of practical skills and put a strong emphasis on making our students employable in Hungary and in the European Union. Study programmes reflect the diverse cultural heritage of Pécs, a home for ethnic minorities and European Capital of Culture in 2010.
Social Innovation, Evaluation and Research Centre
The Social Innovation, Evaluation and Research Centre (Szociális Innovációs-, Értékelő- és Kutatóközpont, SZINEK) has been established to improve social research and development in the South Transdanubian Region. The aim of the centre is to promote dignity, social justice, equality of chances and social solidarity in the transforming Hungarian society. In the Hungarian acronym of the unit (SZINEK, meaning „colours") the philosophy of the staff is reflected. We believe that cultural diversity is an important resource for social development within the European Union.
In EU-funded social projects evaluation, innovation and dissemination of results are considered core issues. SIERC supports project owners by meeting the demands in social research and development. Researchers lay emphasis on knowledge transfer into the immediate and wider community. We are keen to form an international collaborating network of social researchers who would be interested in working on international projects with us.